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Autism Homeopathy Medicine Naturopathy Quackery

Anke Zimmermann: Neonatal vitamin K shots cause behavioral problems that need to be treated with… homeopathic vitamin K!

Anke Zimmermann versus neonatal vitamin K
Anke Zimmermann versus neonatal vitamin K

Anke Zimmermann is a naturopath in Canada who treats autism who’s quackier than the usual naturopath. When last we saw her, she was using homeopathic rabid dog saliva to treat a fear of werewolves. This time around, she presents a “case report” in which she spent two and a half years treating a cranky child with various homeopathic remedies and concluded that her problems were due to the neonatal vitamin K shot. Naturally, that means to her, like any good homeopath, that the correct treatment is vitamin K diluted away to nothing.

Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

The Dunning-Kruger effect, antivaxers, and the arrogance of ignorance

Dunning-Kruger effect graph
Stylized graph summarizing the Dunning-Kruger effect. (Source.)

Thanks to the Dunning-Kruger effect, many antivaxers think they know more about vaccines than doctors, scientists, and other experts in infectious disease, immunology, and vaccines. It is this arrogance of ignorance that fuels their antivaccine activism and makes them resistant to disconfirming evidence.

Categories
Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience

Complementary medicine use and cancer survival: A negative correlation

Complementary medicine vs. chemotherapy

We know that alternative medicine use is associated with poorer survival in cancer, but what about the use of so-called “complementary medicine,” “complementary and alternative medicine,” or “integrative medicine”? Bad news. There’s still a negative correlation between the use of pseudoscientific and unproven medicine and cancer survival, even when used with conventional cancer therapy rather than instead of it.

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Bad science Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop: Allergic to fact-checking

Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop: Allergic to fact-checking
Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop: Allergic to fact-checking

Earlier this week, the New York Times ran a fascinating feature about Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop. In it, we learn—surprise! surprise!—that Gwyneth Paltrow does not like fact-checking. We also learn that the criticism of Goop’s selling of pseudoscience and quackery has reached the point where Paltrow has given in and plans to hire a fact checker. Unfortunately, I strongly suspect that it will do no good and that skeptics will have as much work to do refuting Goop’s quackery after the fact-checker is hired as we do now.

Categories
Bad science Homeopathy Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

First anthroposophy, now homeopathy? Quackademic medicine at the University of Michigan marches on.

Homeopathy at the University of Michigan
Homeopathy at the University of Michigan

A few years ago, it was anthroposophic medicine. This year, it’s homeopathy. Quackademic medicine at the University of Michigan marches on.